Simple Thankfulness

Today as I was tidying my kitchen I emptied a box of apples into my fruit bowl when I had a memory flashback. It was this, a while back my mom shared part of her childhood memories with me, memories of life at home as the oldest sister learning to bake bread at age 5, helping to run the entire household at age 10 with 9 siblings to help care for. She shared at one point that through this all she dreamed of someday having a home and a family of her own and along with those one of her biggest wishes was to own a fridge with a drawer filled with apples. APPLES? I asked her, to which she replied yes it was a huge treat to get one apple a year as a Christmas gift so to her having a drawer full of them in her mind was the epitome of dream come true because that meant that life would be going really well to afford that.

So as I stood there cleaning my counters and placing the apples into the bowl I couldn't help but think about how far my parents have come, not only does she now have a fridge with much more in it than apples but she cares for her family in such a way that we always know that we are loved, she makes meals that are out of this world,my mom along with my dad have afforded us so many extra luxuries growing up.

In this season of 'accumulation of more stuff' I need to remind myself that a long time a long time ago my mom dreamed of a time where she could have unlimited apples and now I, her daughter, takes that so for-granted.

I am so thankful to God for opening up my eyes during times where I need a gentle reminder of the blessings that surround me each and everyday.

So today I say thanks for a bowl of apples.

Fear and Faith

Fear has a way of creeping in, little by little with many varying thoughts ; she looked at me strangely she must have a negative impression of me, what if I never accomplish what I want to accomplish, what if my kids are rebellious, what if people make fun of me, getting up to high off the ground will cause me to freak out, I am afraid of rejection etc. add your own in their and basically it is common human everyday behavior. In fact couldn't gossip even be looked at as fear, fear that our life isn't 'good-enough' so we need to make someone else look bad so that we can think that our life is better. Fear seems to be so common place in everyday life and readily accepted, it is not uncommon to hear people on a regular basis speak fear-filled words and we don't even think twice about it.

Can the same be said for faith-filled words? In my opinion no probably not, it seems that faith-filled words these days spoken out loud seem to be looked at as kookey or 'super-spiritual' or simply not the norm. When someone speaks positive faith-filled words it tends to be viewed as unrealistic. The lean towards the negative fear aspect of things is so strong that it is sometimes easier to stay in fear than push back with faith.

I heard a quote recently that brought these two words together in a way that made perfect sense to me, it clicked, and these words were ~ Fear and Faith both ask you to believe in that which is unseen. That really got me thinking about my own life, what am I believing in the most; the voice of fear that always tells me that I'm never good enough, that I am so afraid of the 'what ifs' in life that I will never take the step over the fear, or am I listening to the voice of Faith that tells me that ALL things are possible, that no matter what the obstacles may be there will be a pathway out.

Is the road of fear sometimes the easier route? Possibly yes but it is not the route that will bring true happiness and contentment in life. Living by faith means taking the risk to face the fear no matter what our feelings may be. Turning down the voice of fear for me means constantly reminding myself to turn up the voice of faith so that the voice of faith is so loud the voice of fear is but a distant rumble.

That is my goal on this journey through life and although I may not always win against fear I will do my best and know that I am not perfect and where I fall short God is there through it all to help me, walk beside me and guide me because through Him ALL things truly are possible!!!

2Timothy 1:7 ~ God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.

There is a Cookie......

There is a cookie calling my name. It sits on the counter all covered in sweet sprinkled icing shouting 'Louise come and get me'....' I am yummy'.....'you know you want to' ....'I taste so yummy with a tall glass of milk' ....and so the voice rings on, twice today I have answered that call and yet it continues to call to me.

Before you get all worried that I am truly hearing voices in my head, I'm not, I speak of the hold that those cookies seem to have on me every time I pass them. Generally when I make cookies I have no problem passing them by, not giving them a second thought, but these, these are different.

These are "Grandma's Cookies" and it was my first attempt at making them, they aren't as melt in my mouth yummy as my mom's version but none the less they are TASTY.....SO I decided to share this lip smacking recipe with you all. ENJOY but be careful, they will start calling your name too ;) I will now try very hard to avoid them at least till Friday ;)

Mom's Recipe Shhhhhhh

2 cups sugar
2 cups sourcream or liquid whip cream
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
4 cups flour - add more to make a soft dough not overly sticky

- refrigerate a fews hours or overnight
- either roll out approx. 1/2 inch thick and cut into circles or scoop out and roll into balls and flatten

- Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes

Make your favorite icing ( I use the one on the icing sugar bag) and spread on cookie. Cookie gets softer when stored in container, they also freeze well!

ENJOY :) !!